


The Unraveling

by Xerox



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Gen, Shane Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 17:32:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/612398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xerox/pseuds/Xerox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shane comforts the Grimes'.  Written for a prompt on TWD kink meme</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Unraveling

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Shane comforts the Grimes when Lori dies. Just want something with sad fluff, like Rick listening to Shane's heartbeat so he knows he's alive. Shane won't let go of Rick and Carl because they need someone to cry on.
> 
> Bonus if Carl cries himself to sleep, and then cries in his sleep.  
> 2X Bonus if Shane cries a little too.

When Maggie walked out with that baby, Shane knew it was bad but it was going to get worse. Didn’t know the particulars but knew that much. And when Rick just glanced at Carl before breaking down, Shane decided to step up, moved over to Carl and put an arm around his shoulder, squeezing tightly because even if men didn’t hug this was different and Carl needed something.

Then he was holding a baby, one that didn’t look like anyone, that could be equal parts his or Rick’s and he felt an overwhelming sense of not knowing what the fuck he was doing. He’d held Carl as a baby, but as soon as things got iffy Lori had always been there to take over. In ways, Shane had always thought she would be.

The weight of his failure to keep her that way almost drowned him, but Rick was drowning right now and he’d just have to wait his turn.

Carl was shaking slightly under his arm, not anything you could see but he could feel it and he pulled the boy closer. Not sure what had gone on in there or what he’d seen but knowing Carl probably shouldn’t have seen it. Remembered vague, disjointed memories of his own mother dying and now maybe both of them were shaking slightly.

Shane didn’t know what to do, he’d never prepared himself for her to die.

Herschel was there, talking and blocking their view of Rick laying on the ground, crying and broken down. Things moved quickly after that, even if Shane was pretty sure they were actually moving too damn slowly for everyone else.

They were in Shane’s cell, the one he’d claimed for his own, not the one Lori and Carl and Rick had shared for the last week. He’d grabbed a couple of extra matts, just laid them up on the floor because Carl was following him around like it was a year ago and the world had just gone to hell again and Shane couldn’t find it in him to force him as far away as the bunk.

And Rick was covered in blood, staring blankly at the wall as Shane carefully cleaned his hands and face. There was no saving the shirt, but that hadn’t made a difference in the past weeks so Shane didn’t do anything about that.

“She’s sleeping,” Carl said softly from behind him, and when Shane turned around to look at the baby, wrapped in her momma’s shirt still. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was moving like Carl’s had done when he was that young. 

“You done good,” because that was all he could think to say, and Carl started sniffling. Like he was trying to hide his tears and it was just another thing Shane had no idea how to handle. “Why don’t you lay down and go to sleep, she’ll be wakin’ up before you know it.” And Carl nodded, not looking at Shane has he carefully maneuvered himself and his sister so they were laid down, curled up next to each other.

And Shane ignored the soft sniffles, or how Carl had laid Rick’s hat on his face to hide his face. Figured it was best to pretend he didn’t realize the kid was crying, he didn’t need his pride being yanked away, along with his mother. “Your mother was right to trust you with her,” he said instead, patting his arm and turning back to Rick who hadn’t moved.

“C’mon,” he said softly to Rick. “You still got the rest of your family to look after,” even as he smeared blood off of Rick’s jaw. “Lay down now.”

And to Shane’s surprise he did so without Shane having to pull him down. And when Shane sighed in relief and laid himself down he was more shocked to find Rick’s head on his chest and a hand clutching at his shirt, knuckles brushing Carl’s back.

Somehow, all of this seemed more wrong then the dead walking and Shane found his hand shaking as he rubbed Rick’s back. And he had to close his eyes at the sudden panic and pain in his chest because this wasn’t him. He wasn’t the man you leaned on when shit was falling down and you needed a hand, he was the one you needed when something needed breaking or something stupid needed done, or you needed to fucking run. Because Shane, well Shane was real good at running.

Couldn’t run from this though, not from them as he was surrounded by Lori’s family, all of them crying because they’d lost her.

He laid there for awhile, just listening to the steady breaths of the two Grimes’ breaths as they finally fell into a sleep. Carl kept whimpering and making sniffling sounds, and Rick, well he’d jerk awake and go stock still, like he wasn’t even breathing before falling back to sleep. Shane was too scared to try and move, scared what that would make Rick do or how it’d hurt him more.

Everytime, he just grit his teeth and stared harder at the ceiling because his eyes weren’t burning like he was supposed to be crying and he was getting the distinct impression that he was as dead inside as he’d always thought.

He’d been right about the little girl waking up sooner than they’d all’d hoped. Rick jerked awake with a panic, the most action he’d seen the man do since he’d ran back inside the prison and came back in covered in blood and Carl had just curled tighter around her.

Shane for his part, sat himself up and reached over Carl. “How about you take care of your dad for a bit,” he whispered while picking her up. Didn’t even have a name yet, and none of them were up to thinking of one. And Shane doubted that Rick would appreciate it if he thought of naming her one of the name’s he’d been thinking of for months now. “It’s probably just gross stuff, like a wet diaper.”

Carl nodded seriously, glancing at his dad like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do and then back at his sister like he knew that was what he was actually supposed to be taking care of.

Shane was desperate though, needed some space himself and she wasn’t crying for her lost mother like they were.

Eventually he got himself away from there, off into the hallway outside of the cells where Daryl had a small fire set and a pot with water already on it, like he’d been expecting it. Him and Daryl weren’t on the steadiest ground, jealousy and bad impressions surrounding them. But for this Shane could be grateful.

They didn’t talk, and Shane barely remembered to test it on his arm before sticking it in her mouth to shut her up. “Where’d the diaper’s go?” and his voice was rougher than he thought it had been, now that he was surrounded by soft crying and heavy breathing.

Daryl just nodded his head to the bag next to him, Shane having a brief moment to think that she deserved something girly, that if this had been before Lori would have bought the most ugly pink diaper bag imaginable, just like the one she’d bought with Carl, blue with cop cars and a pocket for everything so she was never without.

She had one of the onsies on, it was soaked through and Shane winced because that probably meant the mat next to Carl wasn’t faring that well either, and so was Lori’s shirt, but he figured they could wrap that weird so they could still wrap her in it.

Daryl took over the part that Shane had always run from, managing to get the diaper on better than Shane expected. Still looked like men, who had no business taking care of a newborn had done it, but it was better than Shane would have managed.

He let her finish the bottle for making his way back to the cell, spotted Carl curled up next to his daddy, wrapped up tight in what would have probably been painful except that Carl probably needed the attention and Rick needed something to hold onto.

Standing up, looking down at them like this, he could see Carl crying in his sleep and Rick looked like he was about to start soon as well. But she was asleep, wrapped snug in her mother’s shirt and Shane didn’t do anything, remembering how little it took to wake Carl up as a baby.

He kept her on his chest though, arm wrapped just tight enough to make sure she didn’t fall, couldn’t stop himself from running a hand through Carl’s hair as he started making little whimpering and snuffling noises in his sleep.

And when he glanced over, just to make sure Carl was still asleep, Rick was looking at him but while his eyes were still blank they weren’t as blank as they had been. Shane didn’t smile or say anything, just nodded his head, letting Rick knew he had watch for now and kept looking until Rick’s eyes drifted shut again, barely noticed that Rick’s hand was gripping his shirt again.


End file.
